DEL.ICIO.USAbraham and Boley saved Falcons’ day
For the Journal-Constitution
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Green Bay, Wis. — Momentum had undoubtedly swung.
Green Bay, which had won 10 of its last 12 home games, was rallying toward another victory. The Falcons, who had played spirited football all of Sunday, saw their upset hopes slipping away.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Falcons’ linebacker Michael Boley picks off an Aaron Rodgers pass and returns it 16 yards to the Packers 19 in the fourth quarter. The Falcons scored on the ensuing drive on a Michael Turner touchdown that sealed the Falcons’ win.
Then John Abraham and Michael Boley stepped up and saved the day.
The two Falcons defenders made huge plays as Green Bay was attempting to drive for the go-ahead score. Their heroics helped Atlanta leave Lambeau Field with a 27-24 win.
“Both plays were really big for us,” Abraham said. “Green Bay had momentum, they were driving the football. But those plays turned the game around.”
They sure did. The Packers trailed throughout, but had scored on two straight possessions to tie the score at 17-17 in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 20-17 after a Falcons field goal, the Packers picked up a pair of first downs, Abraham made the first enormous play. On a second-and-7, Abraham whipped left tackle Daryn Colledge and grabbed a hold of Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay’s quarterback tried throwing the ball away, but he wasn’t out of the tackle box and was flagged for intentional grounding.
“I guess that was a good time of the game to get that,” Abraham said. “It should have been a sack, but it was almost as good as one. Right place at the right time.”
That also put the Packers in a third-and-19 situation and set up Boley’s game-changing play. Green Bay lined up four wide receivers, Rodgers rolled right and looked for Ruvell Martin.
The Falcons dropped eight in coverage, Boley sat back in a zone and read the quarterback perfectly. When Rodgers’ pass was slightly underthrown, Boley intercepted it and returned it 16 yards to the Packers’ 19-yard line.
Three plays later, Atlanta running back Michael Turner plowed in from two yards out with the game-clinching score.
“He tried to hit a play that usually works for them, but it was right in my zone and I was able to make an interception,” Boley said.
Rodgers, who was questionable up until kickoff with a sprained throwing shoulder, hurt the Falcons much of the day and finished with 313 passing yards, three touchdowns and a 109.4 passer rating. But the Falcons’ defense came up huge when it mattered most.
“They dropped eight guys pretty deep,” Rodgers said of his costly interception. “I was trying to make a play in a situation where I probably should have checked it off (to) the back. Boley made a nice play.”
Atlanta’s defense also had its share of big plays throughout the game.
The Falcons held Green Bay to 10 total yards in the first quarter, and at halftime, the Packers had just five first downs and seven points. Even through three quarters, Green Bay had just 10 points and was struggling offensively.
“This is definitely a big win,” said Abraham, who tallied one sack and now has seven on the year. “To win in Green Bay, a tough place to win, is huge for us.”
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